Its culture
=Victorian Era Evolution of Art, Craft and Culture= The length of time for which Queen Victoria of Britain ruled makes the period too long to be studied in one uniform block in order to have a good look at the changes in the scenario of art, craft and culture with accompanying social evolution the world over. The Victorian era, as it is generally referred to, starts from 1830's and lasts till almost the end of nineteenth century. It is difficult to find uniformity in any of the spheres society keeps interacting with. The fashion in dressing up, hold ing of social events, means of communications, recreation and entertainment, all provide enough scope for a separate study. Apart from a large heritage of valuables preserved with care in various museums, even ephemera that survived, form a very reliable source for the researchers of history and sociology. These are profusely used to produce authentic reprints and replicas to offer us Victorian holiday cards, labels and scrapbooks, which give these items such a different collectible value apart from their historical worth. With photography having been invented and developed somewhere during this period, one is thrilled to find real holiday cards and vintage posters, carrying actual vintage images that form a candid source of viewing the various ways lifestyle kept changing all along. These include vignette photo images that instantly attract curiosity for their sheer age. Just imagine how much a trade card, pamphlet, bookmark, catalogue or railway ticket printed during the era gone by, would interest any curious soul. The period which is picked for a review here from a variety of angles corresponds to phenomenal developments in the field of technology. Electricity and its use in making the nights brighter as also leading to the epoch-making inventions of telephony, recording and reproduction of human voice for posterity, were all achieved in the same era. However, from the viewpoint of the world becoming increasingly informed about the happenings at far off places and making mankind exchange thoughts with far greater number of people, no individual technical advance comes even close to the refinement of printing technology. Thanks to this, we are today in a position to have access to umpteen printed documents both as texts and photos left behind by the yester generations that tell us quite visually all that happened. Here the contribution of advancement of printing technology which make the printed matter far clearer, towards bringing art of illustrious artists like, Dante Rossetti, WH Hunt and Raphael, within the reach of common man, can hardly be overemphasized. To a great extent, artists of Vintage works owe their popularity to printed reproduction of their art. Else, how many people could afford a visit to Louvre just to have a glimpse of Mona Lisa! The tremendous boost, printed postcards have given to tourism, is known to us all. Even before we think of visiting America, the Statue of Liberty floats in our minds, like the Taj Mahal does in case of India. Exciting use of printing during the era made people grow so much familiar with vintage spots that it served to boost to their urge to make a trip to these places. Although much later in the present times, the value of audio-visual media has completely swept man off his feet, it needs to be added that before its advent human history would have been far poorer without the blast of technological advancement the Victorian era saw. Harmeet Singh Chugh is a renowned Author, Writer SEO Writing Expert and an Entreprenuer running a successful Web Publishing House, catering to most US, UK, European clients apart from the local business community in India and has been highly acknowledged and admired for masterpieces and quality writing which is required to showcase proficiency and professionalism in Articles/Blogs/WebContent/Ebooks/Reviews/Forums/Newsletters and PR's. Article Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Harmeet_Singh_Chugh Its Culture The Culture of London concerns the arts, music, museums, festivals and other entertainment in London, the capital city of the United Kingdom. London is widely believed to be the culture capital of the world, although this title is disputed with a number of other cities internationally. The city is particularly renowned for its theatre quarter, and its West End theatre district has given the name to "West End theatre", the strand of mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in London. London is also home to notable cultural attractions such as the British Museum, the Tate Galleries, the National Gallery, the Notting Hill Carnival and The O2. A variety of landmarks and objects are cultural icons associated with London, such as Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and the tube map. Many other British cultural icons are strongly associated with London in the minds of visiting tourists, including the red telephone box, the routemaster bus, the black taxi and the Union Flag. The city is home to more than 300 nationalities, and the diversity of cultures have shaped the city's culture over time. Classical music/Opera {C}{C}{C} The Floral Hall of the Royal Opera House The London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. There are also several chamber orchestras, some of which specialise in period instrument performances, including the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. The principal orchestral music venues are the Royal Festival Hall, and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, which are both in the South Bank Centre; the Barbican Centre; and the Royal Albert Hall, which hosts the Proms each summer. Chamber music venues include the Purcell Room at the South Bank Centre; the Wigmore Hall and St John's, Smith Square. The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden is home to the Royal Opera and Royal Ballet companies. The other main opera company is the English National Opera. In the summer opera is performed in a temporary pavilion by Opera Holland Park, and there are occasional performances by visiting opera companies and small freelance professional opera companies. The major venues for contemporary dance productions include the Sadler's WellsTheatre and the Barbican Centre. Popular music London is famous for its rock scene, and was the starting point of some of the greatest 60s and 70s band such as Iron Maiden, The Clash, Led Zeppelin, The Sex Pistols, The Who, Pink Floyd,Queen and very popular 90s bands like Blur, Coldplay, Radiohead, and Oasis that are still very popular to this day. Most major bands' tours will pass through London as well, favourite venues being the Brixton Academy, the London Astoria, and the Hammersmith Apollo. In addition to spawning the bands mentioned above, London, in its capacity as the UK's cultural centre, has served as the base of a number of internationally important acts, including David Bowie, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, as well as being instrumental in the birth of dance music. London also has a thriving urban scene, mainly throughout the 21st century. Soul singers like Adele, Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone and Lemar have found themselves chart, and international success. R&B singers such as The Sugababes, Leona Lewis, Taio Cruz, Jay Sean and Alexandra Burke are also extremely popular. London also has a strong rap scene; rappers including Wileyand Dizzee Rascal among others have helped contribute to London gaining the status of having the strongest rap scene outside of the USA. Cult indie band Them Getaways infamously grew up on the streets of London. Their short-lived career sparked what became known as the Guitar Renaissance in late 2010. London is the home of one of the biggest underground scenes in the world. Genres include Uk garage, Drum and bass, Dubstep, 2step and most notably, grime. Source: video: www.youtube.com/watch?v='1HByLqodbIU' A brief information about museums in London, as you will see, they have a big importance in the social aspect and the culture. London is home to over 240 museums, galleries, and other institutions, many of which are free of admission charges and are major tourist attractions as well as playing a research role. The first of these to be established was the British Museum in Bloomsbury, in 1753. Originally containing antiquities, natural history specimens and the national library, the museum now has 7 million artefacts from around the globe. Also of eighteenth-century foundation is the Royal Academy of Arts; its summer exhibition has been an annual fixture on the London social calendar since 1769. In 1824 the National Gallery was founded to house the British national collection of Western paintings; this now occupies a prominent position in Trafalgar Square. In the latter half of the nineteenth century the locale of South Kensington was developed as "Albertopolis", a cultural and scientific quarter. Three major national museums are located there: the Victoria and Albert Museum (for the applied and Decorative arts), the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. The national gallery of British art is at Tate Britain, originally established as an annexe of the National Gallery in 1897. The Tate Gallery, as it was formerly known, also became a major centre for modern art; in 2000 this collection moved to Tate Modern, a new gallery housed in the former Bankside Power Station. London's museums of military and maritime history also opened in the twentieth century: the Imperial War Museum in 1917, and the National Maritime Museum in 1934. London has several smaller museums of note. The Dulwich Picture Gallery was the first purpose-built public art gallery in England, opening in 1817. Its architect, Sir John Soane, turned his own house in Lincoln's Inn Fields into a museum and architectural showcase, known as the Soane Museum. The Wallace Collection is a notable small collection of Old Master paintings and furniture, with an emphasis on French works. The Courtauld Institute of Art, which pioneered the study of art history in Britain from its foundation in 1932, is now located in Somerset House, the former premises of the Royal Academy. The Museum of London, charting the capital's history, has been located in the Barbican complex since 1976; a sister museum in the Docklands opened in 2003. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Natural_History_Museum_London_Jan_2006.jpg (A photo of London Natural history museum) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUWhaEOSLa4 (A brief video where some of the cultural aspect of London is shown and explained)